Cats in Trees 20 (Ode to Chappy)
by snarcasm318
Summary: Takes place after Season 2 Episode 6 "Girl's Night Out" of EOiNA. A silly one-shot about Jamie and Viv and the important questions one asks.


A/N: So this is the product of both hero worship and my 2am brain. Technically it was written a while ago, but if you've read the most recent chapter (Season 2 Episode 6) of EOiNA then you'll realize why it hasn't been posted till now (although I genuinely have no idea how long after that chapter it takes place). This is just a silly one-shot that was written to make Chappy smile and because I'm a fan of a certain firefighter.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. They 100% belong to ChapstickLez and I'm just borrowing them for a bit. The mistakes, however, are all mine.

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She had never quite pictured it like this. That she would fall so hard for someone so quickly. A cop no less, something the boys back at the station were quick to give her shit about. No, cops weren't her favorite people, how could they be considering her family's history with them? But while Vivian was definitely a cop, there was no truer blue than the heart that beat beneath that bullet proof vest her Peck wore surprisingly well, there was a lot more to the woman than her profession. She was introverted, brave, meditative, cautious, but also more than a little reckless considering her attraction to ETF and her propensity to play with bombs. Then there was a side to Viv that no one ever got to see; a side that wasn't completely stuck inside her own head. One that could laugh, and be goofy, and ask silly ass question that only a cop would ask a firefighter.

"Do you really slide down poles when a call comes in?"

Jamie rolled her eyes, "You've seen the station, you know the answer to that."

"Fine, fine." Vivian took a minute to ponder her next question. "How many times have you been called a hose monkey?"

"That was the first, and had better be the last." She fixed the brunette with a serious glare to warn her before softening when the short-haired cop had the grace to look more than a little sheepish. "I swear these questions are getting worse."

"Okay, okay. One last one."

"This had better be good."

"Have you ever rescued a cat from a tree?"

Jamie barked out a laugh. But when she looked at the girl beside her there was such seriousness and honest-to-God giddiness in Vivian's face when she asked the question that Jamie couldn't resist the urge to lean over and kiss her. It was a quick, chaste kiss. "You're insane. You know that, right?"

"I'm being serious."

"Uh-huh." Jamie stole one more kiss, before adopting an equally serious expression. "So it was my first day on the job, just a young probbie who couldn't wait to get her first call. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. The ringing of the alarm came so suddenly that I nearly fell off my bunk. I had to scramble to throw on my gear before sliding down the pole in the middle of the station. I was the first one on the truck and in a few minutes we were peeling out, tires squealing, sirens blaring to the park on Witherspoon. When we got there, there was a crowd of people standing in front of the tallest tree I had ever seen. Looking up was just a small black kitten who had managed to climb to the top, but couldn't find her way down. She was meowing pitifully, just waiting to be saved. Being the heroic firefighter that I am, I had a duty to uphold. It wasn't easy, but I got Whiskers out of the sticky situation and returned her to her rightful owners back on the ground."

"Seriously?"

"No." Jamie snorted. "You're kind of gullible, Peck."

She almost felt bad, considering how much her girlfriend's (where they calling each other girlfriends yet?) face had lit up with the story only to come crashing down when she realized that Jamie had just been yanking her chain, but the shock and indignation were also hilarious. So she couldn't help her fit of laughter.

"You're the worst."

"You love it." Fuck, the word had slipped so effortlessly from her lips, but she hadn't meant to say it. Because saying the L word (even if it wasn't those three specific words that get said in a specific order) so early into a relationship was like yelling fire in a crowded theater. It was recklessly panic inducing. They hadn't even defined what they were yet.

"Maybe."

Viv had replied with a nonchalant shrug, her face stoically unreadable like it could often be. But she had a feeling her girl was about to get stuck in her own head and that was the last place she wanted her to be. Not when their night had been going so well. Not when they were both naked in her bed, twisted up in sheets, and sharing a carton of vanilla ice cream. Something she had bought because she knew Vivian had a weird thing about food, never quite letting herself indulge fully, kind of like her taste in doughnut. (Seriously, who the hell chose old-fashioned doughnuts?) Not that she knew why since those were things that they hadn't yet talked about because sometimes talking was hard, and other things that involved a lot less words and clothing were easier. But she wanted to know things, because this mercurial woman in front of her was one of the most intriguing people she had ever met.

And clearly Viv wanted to know things too. Yes, they were silly questions, but her girlfriend (oh, fuck it, she was going to say girlfriend at least in her own head!) was asking them and looked adorable in how serious she made them sound. It was also easier to talk about work, and fires, and saving cats than it was to talk about the serious things, the secrets, the things she never showed or shared with anyone. It was why she understood Viv and her habit of pretending to be boring so people wouldn't ask questions or look further. But Jamie also knew it was just an act even if she didn't know why. Not yet at least.

She tried to retreat to their previous teasing, "Well, any girlfriend of mine should like my sense of humor."

"Girlfriend, huh?"

Oh, shit! If she hadn't sent Vivian into a tailspin in her own head yet that night, she was probably going to now.

"Well, yeah, I mean I kind of thought that's what we were or at least where we were heading. But only if you wanted to be. If not, that's totally cool and we can just pretend like I didn't say anything." It wasn't like Jamie to get flustered. She took pride in being a confident and charismatic charmer. It was how she first approached Viv in the park, and again in the club. It was even how she asked for her number the first time. But right then she felt more like a bumbling teenager than the grown woman she knew she was.

Or maybe the reaction wouldn't be that bad, because the incredibly tall, gorgeous copper was looking at her like she had just offered to lasso the moon for her. It was Viv's turn to quiet her with a kiss, and, God, the softness of her lips was enough to make Jamie forget all the words she had ever learned.

"I'd really like to be your girlfriend." Viv informed her when they broke apart.

Jamie knew she was smiling way too widely, she could feel her cheeks burning with the stretch of her muscles. Not that she could be bothered to give a shit, not when the beautiful woman in front of her had just agreed to be her girlfriend. This time when she kissed Viv it was a lot less chaste and a lot more distracting.

No, that night wasn't the time for serious talks and real questions that forced real conversations to happen. And, for once, she wasn't in any kind of rush. There would be plenty of time for those kinds of talks because if there was one thing Jamie McGann knew it was that she wasn't letting Viv go anytime soon.

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What do you think dear readers? Did I do the characters justice or should Chappy ban me from reading her stories?


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